Reno Air Races Face Steep Curve With NTSB Requests

RENO (AP) - Reno Air Races officials are facing an accelerated schedule and learning curve as they tackle suggestions by federal crash investigators and seek insurance and crucial permits for the only unlimited class, wingtip-to-wingtip flying competition in thenation.

In nine short weeks, up to 50 pilots are due to take to theskies at Reno Stead Airport, the site of a deadly crash lastSeptember that killed 11 people, seriously injured more than 70,and canceled the marquee National Championship Air Races.

"Nine weeks to implement a lot of changes," Michael Houghton,chief of the Air Races Association, said Wednesday.

The June 13-16 seminar won't involve competition or draw the200,000 spectators expected three months later for the 49th annualReno Air Races. But it will be the first time new and veteranpilots are expected to fly by rules tailored from suggestionsunveiled Tuesday in Reno by the National Transportation SafetyBoard as a result of the crash.

The NTSB focused on course design, pre-race inspections,aircraft modifications and ramp safety - such as moving a fueltruck away from the area and installing more substantial spectatorsafety barriers.

Houghton noted that the board didn't mandate changes, and hasn'tissued its final report on the deadly crash. He said the Air RacingAssociation is awaiting a separate report by the end of the monthfrom a four-member panel of pilots and regulators established inJanuary to look at event safety.

"We'd be foolish not to listen to (the NTSB) if they've foundsomething," Houghton said.

The NTSB also focused on the possibility of requiring pilots todon g-suits to reduce the effects of gravitational forces, andon resolving a conflict between Federal Aviation Administration andNTSB regulations for the distance between spectators and aircraftwhizzing at more than 500 mph past grandstands full of spectators.

No decision has been made about flight suits. But Houghton notedthe so-called G-suits could cost $20,000 each, might requireretrofitting vintage aircraft that weren't initially designed toaccommodate the gear, and could make pilot maneuverabilitydifficult in cramped cockpits.

Houghton also expressed confusion about the recommendation todouble the spectator safety buffer from 500 feet to 1,000 feet. Buthe said that if necessary, he'd change the air racing course beforerearranging seating, including about 3,600 folding chairs in 300boxes on the airport tarmac in front of the grandstand.

"We anticipate having box seats on the apron again this year,"Houghton said.

Spectators in those VIP seats bore the brunt of the carnage whenpilot Jimmy Leeward's modified World War II-era P-51 Mustang,dubbed the "Galloping Ghost," pitched skyward during thecompetition last Sept. 16 then slammed nose-first to the tarmac.The impact blasted a crater about 3 feet deep and 8 feet wide andscattered metal, chairs and body parts across more than two acres.

Leeward, 74, of Ocala, Fla., was the 20th pilot killed since thecompetition began 47 years earlier in Reno. It was the first timespectators were killed.

Bill Rush, a private pilot and avid Reno Air Races fan fromBoulder Creek, Calif., wondered Wednesday whether the horrificcrash and the intense attention it has received could make it toocostly for Houghton and the association to obtain insurance.

"The obstacle could be that from a financial standpoint it maynot be worth the risk," said Rush, a retired insurance broker."The deductible could be too high. Or the cost to the associationcould be too high."

Houghton called obtaining insurance crucial to pulling the eventtogether.

In February, Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority board membersconsidering renewal of the permit for the air races talked aboutincreasing a $100 million insurance requirement. In a writtenbriefing, board lawyer Ann Morgan said a $300 million policy wouldbe optimum.

"It can no longer be said that a mass casualty has not happenedat the air races," she wrote.

No decision was made, authority spokesman Brian Kulpin saidWednesday. He said the association asked for more time to respond.

"We've only required $100 million up to this point," Kulpinsaid.

The current airport authority permit expires July 1, after theJune pilot training school.

Ticket sales to the marquee event have been slow, but Houghtonvowed that the races will go on Sept. 12-16 with changes, arequired FAA waiver, insurance and a new permit from the airportauthority.

"We're absolutely focused on having the races this year,"Houghton said. "We're taking every step to work through the myriadchallenges, both recurring and new, to make that happen."

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